Method of making pile fabric



April 26, 1955 2,707,158

JOHANNES BERNHARD HANS VAN ISSUM KNOWN AS HANS VAN [SSUM METHOD OF MAKING FILE FABRIC Filed July 18, 1952 INVENTOR tent 2,707,158 Patented Apr. 26, 1955 dice METHOD OF MAKING PILE FABREC Johannes Bernhard Hans Van Issum, known as Hans Van Issum, deceased, late of Heaton, England, by Carola Van Issnm, Heston, and Thomas Francis Keegan, Bradford, England, administrators, assignors to Fabric Development Company Limited, Addingham, England, a company of Great Britain Application July 18, 1952, Serial No. 299,615

Claims priority, application Great Britain July 24, 1951 7 Claims. (Cl. 117-41?) The invention relates to a method of and means for treating fibres, tufts or yarn pile of an unwoven pile material such as plush, velvet, imitation fur, carpets, rugs, mats and so forth, and while particularly applicable to the treatment of the pile of fabrics manufactured by methods such as described in specifications Nos. 2,516,559; 2,480,984 and 2,491,258, it may also be applied to a woven pile fabric.

The desired characteristics of a pile fabric vary according to the use for which the fabric is intended.

A carpet, for example, the pile of which is composed of high grade fibrous substance, is pleasantly sprmgy or resilient to walk on, and when relieved of the weight of the walker, quickly recovers its form. It also offers a high resistance to wear.

On the contrary, one made of a yarn mixture consisting of fibres with little or no resilience or low quality fibrous substance such as reclaimed fibres, seems hard when walked on. The pile is apt to lie fiat after use and does not regain its original form as it has no resilience, and relatively poor resistance to wear.

A material which is to simulate fur should be either soft or hard to the touch, according to the skin it is to imitate.

According to the invention, the above desired characteristics of a pile material or fabric are obtained by supporting the pile in a slab or the like of a solidifying medium or gel such as alginate with the ends of the pile exposed at opposite surfaces of the slab and protruding at one surface, and treating the pile with a reinforcing substance such as synthetic resin, which is applied to the surface of the support at which the pile ends protrude and sucked into intimate contact with the fibres or filaments of the pile by connecting the opposite surface of the support and the pile ends exposed at that surface to suction.

The nature, i. e. pH value, viscosity and so forth, of the treating medium and the degree and duration of the suction may be varied to suit the nature and length of the pile whether spun or unspun, so that the characteristics required are achieved according to the use for which the pile material is intended. With a yarn pile, or one com posed of spaced layers of fibrous substance the treating medium may be sucked down and through the pile, and even in a very fine state right through the pile.

It has been found that in certain cases it is an advantage to use first a weak solvent for dissolving the solidified medium around the fibres or spun material, in order to create or enlarge channels around the fibrous substance.

A primary plastic coat is then applied.

By suitable adjustment of the pH value and/ or the viscosity plasticisation, also the required resin solution or the like, a wedge like protuberance is drawn into the fibrous substance. This protuberance may make the fibrous substance resilient or flexible as desired.

The preparatory treatment with weak solvent may be omitted. Depressions may be formed in the alginate support adjacent to the pile ends and be filled with treating medium, which after drying, affords considerable and effective locking or keying of the pile.

The pile after treatment and while still in its support or slab is preferably passed through a drying or curing chamber, and, in a method of manufacture as described in the specifications referred to, a final plastic backing may be then applied to the primary coating or film of treating medium on the surface of the slab.

After the final backing has cured, the alginate ,supporting or consolidating medium is removed from the pile.

When a woven pile fabric such as a carpet is treated it is supported with its pile embedded in a consolidating medium. A final plastic backing may not be necessary.

Apparatus for carrying out the above treatment may comprise a foraminous band, for carrying slabs or so.- lidified supports containing the piles to be treated, which travel over suction troughs or chambers which may be connected with any convenient suction producing means, suitable devices being provided to otherwise apply the treating medium.

Several examples will now be referred to.

In the treatment of a pile for a carpet or rug, composed of yarn and manufactured according to U. S. Patent No. 2,5 l6,559, slabs of assembled yarn pile having its ends exposed at opposite surfaces of the slab but also protruding at one surface, are placed on the foraminous band and travelled on rollers over a suction trough, the dimensions of the trough being such that it is practically closed off by the slabs passing over it. A treating medium consisting of a solution or emulsion of synthetic resin is applied to the surface of each slab as it passes over the suction trough.

The treating medium is sucked down into the yarn ends into intimate contact with the consolidated surface and with the yarn pile.

The suction and pH value of the treating medium may cause depressions to be formed in the surface adjacent to the ends of the pile, the depressions being completely filled with the treating medium.

The medium is drawn into and thus penetrates, or infiltrates the yarn pile, and under continuation of suction some medium in a very fine state may pass right down and through the pile.

The synthetic resin with which the pile has been treated is then cured, for instance, the treated slabs of pile are passed through a curing chamber, after which the final coating or backing of plastic is applied to any desired thickness.

In another example spaced layers of fibrous substance are assembled in an alginate support as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,491,258. These are treated in a similar manner to that above described.

The degree of penetration of the treating medium depends to some extent on the pH value of the treating medium, which may be above or below 7.0.

in a third example, a Woven pile carpet is supported by consolidating it in an alignate slab and treating it in a similar manner.

When non-absorbent filamentous substance is used for a pile, for example, the individual filaments of. nylon, rayon, or the like, these cannot be penetrated by the treating medium but it may be drawn down them so that the filaments are partly coated or sheathed at the base, leaving the tips untouched.

Experiments have shown that a carpet or rug having a yarn pile composed of a mixture of reclaimed fibres,

d a relatively smali percentage of virginwool, treated and backed as in the first example given above, has the desired characteristics to a high degree, being pleasantly resilient to walk on, the pile instantly regaining its form when relieved of the weight and oifering high resistance to disptacement when rubbed or pulled.

Also in the case of a carpet Where the pile is composed of a high grade fibrous substance and is already pleasantly springy and resilient to walk on, it can, by the method according to the invention, be improved still further.

As moisture on the surface of the slab and'in the pile would prevent efiicieot adherence ofthe primary coating and penetration into the pile it is advisable to pass the slab through a drier before application of the coating.

Air in the driermay be drawn through the pile before the primary coating or" treating medium is applied, soils to remove moisture present, thus facilitating the adherence and penetration of the coating medium.

in the accompanying drawings which illustrate schematically an apparatus for carrying out the method and various stages in the method as applied to the examples above referred to:

Figure l is a side elevation of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a side view of a portionof slab supporting a pile composed of spun fibrous substance.

Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a side view and plan of the portion of slab after the primary coating has been applied.

Figure 5 is a side view of the portion of slab after the second coating has been applied to form a final backing; and

Figure 6 is a side view showing the backing with the treated pile, after the gel or supporting medium has been removed.

Figures 7 to ll are corresponding views to Figures 2 to 6 illustrating corresponding stages in the treatment of a pile composed of spaced layers of unspnn fibrous sub stance or sliver.

Figure 12 is a side view of a portion of slab with the pile of a woven carpet embedded in the supporting medium;

Figure 13 is a side view of the portion of slab after application of the primary coating; and

Figure 14 is a side view of the portion of carpet after the supporting medium has been removed.

Referring to Figure 1 the apparatus comprises an endless conveyor which for convenience is in six sections, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. It is composed of foraminous material.

The section 1 receives the slabs 4' of consolidating medium in which the pile to be treated is supported and conveys them under rotary brushes 7, 7, preferably having metallic bristles or pin rollers, which remove some of the gel or other consolidating medium from the upper surfaces of the slabs so that the ends of the pile protrude from the upper surfaces. As described in Patent No. 2,516,559, referred to above, the consolidating medium may comprise gel, wax which is melted by heating and allowed to cool, a metal alloy of low melting point such as Woods metal, starch or gelatine solutions, rosin or animal or vegetable glue. The particles of medium removed are taken away by a suction trough 8. A vacuum trough 38 may be provided below the conveyor section 1 to initiate removal of moisture and also to ensure that the slabs 4 will be held securely against the conveyor while passing under the brushes 7, 7. lt will be understood that the ends of the pile are exposed at the upper and. lower surfaces of the slabs. The slabs are then conveyed through a drying chamber 9 in which air heated to about 210 F. is suitably distributed over the slabs to dry the protruding ends of the pile and upper surfaces of the slabs, vacuum troughs 10 being provided below the conveyor section 2 to remove moisture laden air.

The slabs delivered from the drying chamber 9 are conveyed by the conveyor section 3 over vacuum troughs 11 and under doctors 12 and 14. The doctor 12 is supplied with the reinforcing substance for instance a solution or emulsion of synthetic resin and applies it to the slabs passing under it to form a primary coating 15, the emulsion flowing down the protruding pile ends on to the upper surfaces of the slabs. The coated slabs pass over the suction troughs 11 so that the emulsion is sucked into intimate contact with the pile and the upper surfaces of the slab, penetrating the pile.

, The slabs pass successively under the doctors 14 and over the vacuum troughs 11. The doctors 14 are supplied with air which is blown by them on to the coating so as to maintain synthetic resin in a condition for continued sucking into the pile as the slabs pass over the suction troughs 11.

.The number of these air doctors and their corresponding vacuum troughs may be varied to suit the character of pile to be treated, as some pile is more absorbent than others.

The slabs so far treated are then passed on to the conveyor section 4 and conveyed by it through a curing oven 17 in which air at an adequate temperature to cure the coating of synthetic resin is distributed over them and withdrawn by vacuum troughs 13. If desired several ovens may bearranged in series supplied with air at increasing temperatures so that the heat isgradually increased for example from 195 to 600 F. v

The slabs issuing from the curing oven 17 are conveyed under a doctor 20 which applies the substance to form with the primary coating 15 a backing 21 for the pile the protruding ends of which are to be embedded and fixed in the backing. Plastic or synthetic resin is preferred for this purpose. The backing is then cured for instance by conveying the slabs on the conveyor section 6 through a curing oven 37 in which air at an adequate temperature is distributed over the slabs while passing over vacuum troughs 38.

During this curing process the two backings blend to.

form the final backing. When the backing is cured the gel or other consolidating medium is removed from the pile which can be washed and brushed as explained in the U. S. patents before referred to.

Reference will now be made to the example illustrated by Figures 2-6 which illustrate the application of the invention to slabs supporting yarn pile as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,516,559. Figure 2 shows a portion of a slab 4 after passing under the brushes or pin rollers 7, Figure l, the yarn pile 22 having protruding ends 23. The opposite ends of the pile are exposed at the lower surface of the slab but do not protrude. Figure 3 shows a portion of the slab after passing under the doctors 12, and 14 and over the corresponding vacuum troughs 11. The primary coating 15 is shown in intimate contact with the upper surface of the slab 4' and having protuberances 24. The protuberances partly surround the pile as at 24 and penetrate into it as at 25. The extent of penetration varies according to the nature or quality of the pile some yarn being more loosely spun and more absorbent than others. Some of the emulsion may actually be drawn right down the pile.

The effect of suction may cause the formation of slight depressions in the upper surface of the slab surrounding the pile, the depressions being filled in with the emulsion and forming the parts 24 of the protuberances.

Figure 5 shows a portion of the slab 4 after it has passed under the doctor or extruder 20 and has been coated with a coating 21. of plastic which is united with the primary coating 15 and constitutes the final backing with the protruding yarn ends firmly fixed in it.

After the slab has been through a curing oven to cure the backing the solidifiable substance or consolidating medium of the slab is removed from the pile in known manner and the backing 36 composed of the primary coating 15 and the coating 21 is left with the pile firmly fixed in it as indicated in Figure 6. Figures 7 to 11 are corresponding views to Figures 5 to 6 illustrating corresponding stages in the treatment of a pile composed of spaced layers 26 of unspun fibrous substance, such as sliver as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,491,258. The pile is indicated by 26, the protruding ends by 27, the slab by 4.

In this example the protuberances 28 from the primary coating 15 are in the form of ridges partly extending along the sides of the layers 26 and partly extending in wedge form into the layers.

In either example above described the slabs are arranged in close contact so that when provided with a backing by the doctor 20 they are united to form a continuous length. 7

When treating a woven pile fabric such as a carpet having a woven or porous backing it is supported in a slab 4' of consolidating medium for instance a gel of alginate with the pile 29 embedded in the slab and the woven backing 3t) exposed as indicated in Figure 12. Should it be desired to treat a woven pile fabric which is to be provided with a non-porous backing, it is treated before that is applied.

Figure 13 shows a portion of slab and carpet'after a primary coating 15 has been applied to the upper surface of the slab and after passing over the vacuum troughs so that protuberances 31 have been drawn from the coating 15 into the pile 29. Figure 14 shows the carpet or woven pile fabric after removal of the gel.

The cured coating 15 not only provides the protuber ances for the pile but reinforces the woven backing. If a non-porous backing is required it can be applied subsequently to the woven backing and to the primary coating.

In the appended claims the term pile fabric is intended to include fabrics such as carpets, rugs, mats, plushcs and similar articles. The term reinforcing medium, as used 111 the speck.

fication and claims, is intended to define a medium which sets or is cured to a usually permanent, more or less resilient support embedded in or around at least the base portions of the fibers to maintain a springy pile; examples being synthetic resin, plastics or other suitable substances.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of treating a pile composed of fibres, tufts or yarn for use in a pile fabric which consists in supporting the pile in determined spaced relation in a slab of consolidating medium with the pile exposed at the two opposite surfaces of the slab, the pile at one surface protruding beyond that surface, applying a primary coating of a liquid containing synthetic resin to that surface and subjecting the opposite surface of the slab to suction for the purpose of sucking the coating into intimate contact with the pile, subsequently curing the primary coating of synthetic resin, applying a final backing of synthetic resin to said primary coating and curing said final backing, and removing the consolidating medium from the pile.

2. A method of treating the pile of a woven pile fabric including a backing supporting said pile, which consists in supporting said fabric with its pile embedded in a slab composed of consolidating medium and with the pile exposed at one of the surfaces of the slab and the woven backing exposed above the other of said surfaces, passing the slab through a drying chamber, applying a liquid reinforcing medium containing synthetic resin to the surface of the slab at which the woven backing is exposed, subjecting the opposite surface of the slab to suction for the purpose of sucking the said liquid reinforcing medium into the pile, subsequently curing the said liquid reinforcing medium and finally removing only the consolidating medium from the pile.

3. In the manufacture of a pile fabric the process of reinforcing the pile, comprising embedding the pile in parallel spaced relation in a consolidating medium to form a solid slab with the pile projecting from the upper surface of said slab and exposed at the lower surface thereof, applying a solidifiable liquid reinforcing medium containing plastic to the upper surface of said slab and to the adjacent projecting pile, subjecting the lower surface of said slab and the adjacent exposed pile to suction for the purpose of drawing said liquid reinforcing medium into said pile along a portion of its length while the consolidating medium maintains the spaced relation of the pile, applying a backing to the upper surface of the slab, solidifying the liquid reinforcing medium and subsequently removing the consolidating medium from the ile.

P 4. In the manufacture of a pile fabric including the pile reinforcing operation claimed in claim 9 remov ng moisture from the embedded pile before said reinforcing operation, by subjecting the lower surface of the slab to suction and allowing air to be sucked through the P118 before the liquid reinforcing medium is applied to the upper surface of the slab.

5. In the manufacture of a pile fabric wherein the fibrous substance which is to form the pile is arranged in parallel spaced relation in a slab of gel with the pile projecting above the upper surface of the slab and exposed at the lower surface thereof, a plastic backing is applied to the pile projecting from the upper surface of the slab, said plastic backing is cured and the gel is subsequently removed from the pile, the additional step of reinforcing the pile prior to the application of the plastic backing by applying a solidifiable liquid reinforcing medium containing plastic to the upper surface of the slab and subjecting the lower surface of the slab to suetion for the purpose of drawing said medium into the pile while the pile is maintained in spaced relation by the gel and solidifying said medium before the application of said plastic backing.

6. A method of treating a pile composed of fibres, tufts or yarn for use in a pile fabric which consists in supporting the pile to be treated in a slab of consolidating medium with the pile exposed at two opposite surfaces of the slab, the pile at one of said surfaces also protruding therefrom, applying in a liquid state a solidifiable reinforcing medium to said protruding pile and the corresponding surface of the slab, subjecting the other of said surfaces to suction for the purposes of withdrawing moisture and sucking said reinforcing medium into said pile and along a portion of the length of said pile while the consolidating medium maintains the spaced relation of the pile, solidifying said reinforcing medium within and around said pile, and subsequently removing said consolidating medium from the pile, whereby said solidified reinforcing medium renders the pile more resilient and improves the resistance thereof to wear.

7. In the manufacture of a pile fabric wherein the fibrous substance which is to form the pile: is arranged in parallel spaced relation in a slab of a consolidating medium with the pile projecting above the upper surface of the slab and exposed at the lower surface thereof, a backing is applied to the pile projecting from the upper surface of the slab, and the consolidating medium is subsequently removed from the pile, the additional step of reinforcing the pile prior to the application of the backing by applying a solidifiable liquid reinforcing medium to the upper surface of the slab and subjecting the lower surface of the slab to suction for the purpose of drawing said medium into the pile while the pile is maintained in spaced relation by the consolidating medium and solidifying said reinforcing medium before the application of said backing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,728,471 Bratring Sept. 17, 1929 2,290,741 Eckert July 21, 1942 2,480,984 Van Issum Sept. 6, 1949 2,491,258 Fuhrhop Dec. 13, 1949 2,516,559 Furhhop July 25, 1950 2,548,872 Cross Apr. 17, 1951 

1. A METHOD OF TREATING A PILE COMPOSED OF FIBERS, TUFTS OR YARN FOR USE IN A PILE FABRIC WHICH CONSISTS IN SUPPORTING THE PILE IN DETERMINED SPACED RELATION IN A SLAB OF CONSOLIDATING MEDIUM WITH THE PILE EXPOSED AT THE TWO OPPOSITE SURFACES OF THE SLAB, THE PILE AT ONE SURFACE PROTRUDING BEYOND THAT SURFACE, APPLYING A PRIMARY COATING OF A LIQUID CONTAINING SYNTHETIC RESIN TO THAT SURFACE AND SUBJECTING THE OPPOSITE SURFACE OF THE SLAB TO SUCTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUCKING THE COATING INTO INTIMATE CONTACT WITH THE PILE, SUBSEQUENTLY CURING THE PRIMARY COATING OF SYNTHETIC RESIN, APPLYING A FINAL BACKING OF SYNTHETIC RESIN TO SAID PRIMARY COATING AND CURING SAID FINAL BACKING, AND REMOVING THE CONSOLIDATING MEDIUM FROM THE PILE. 